I wasn't supposed to like George H.W. Bush -- Then I got to know him

I first met George H.W. Bush, who died Friday at age 94, not long before he was elected as Ronald Reagan’s vice president in 1980. At the time, if anyone was predisposed not to like the future vice president and president, it was me. In 1980 I was holding my first job in politics, working as a press aide to former Texas Gov. John B. Connally – who, like Bush and Ronald Reagan, was seeking the 1980 Republican presidential nomination. None of Connally’s aides had anything nice to say about Bush. Apparently, Texas wasn’t big enough for the two of them. I had no personal knowledge of Bush and therefore, no reason to doubt the negative comments.

Former Vice President Dan Quayle Remembers Lunches With George Bush .

01:30 04 december 2018 Source: people.com. Former Vice President Dan Quayle Remembers ' Wonderful ' Lobster Lunches with George H . W . Bush Quayle , who now lives in Arizona, most enjoyed his lobster and white wine lunches each summer on the ocean in Kennebunkport.

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As the Vice President to the 41st president George H.W. Bush, Dan Quayle always felt like he was a member of the Bush family, even another son.

“Once I became Vice President, we began a close relationship that has lasted until his death,” Quayle, 71, tells PEOPLE. “He brought me into his family, inviting me to many events and including me in everything at his homes in Houston and Kennebunkport.”

Quayle, who now lives in Arizona, most enjoyed his lobster and white wine lunches each summer on the ocean in Kennebunkport.

Colin Powell: George H.W. Bush was the 'most qualified person' to be president in terms of foreign policy

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell praised the late President George H.W. Bush, saying he was the "most qualified" person to serve as president when it came to foreign policy. require(["medianetNativeAdOnArticle"], function (medianetNativeAdOnArticle)
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}); “Everything he thought of, everything he did in public life was always directed to helping the American people,” Powell told ABC’s “This Week” during an interview Sunday. “He was a patriot. He demonstrated that in war. He demonstrated that in peace.

RELATED: Former Vice President Dan Quayle Remembers ‘ Wonderful ’ Lobster Lunches with George H . W . Bush . Former president George H . W . Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard to lie in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

Vice President George Bush raises his arms during a speech at the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans.Shepard Sherbell/CORBIS SABA/Corbis via Getty Images. The two men would square off again 18 years later when Bentsen was the running mate of Democratic presidential

“I would go up there to see George and Barbara, and it was just the three of us having a wonderful meal and great talks,” he says. “We did it every year until recently when George’s health was failing.”

RELATED: George H.W. Bush’s Children and Grandchildren Mourn Their Late Patriarch at U.S. Capitol Ceremony

Former Vice President Dan Quayle Remembers 'Wonderful' Lobster Lunches with George H.W. Bush

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Before President Bush asked Quayle, who was a popular Senator from Indiana, to be his running mate in 1988, the two politicians had known each other for 10 years.

‘Saturday Night Live’ Pays Tribute To President George H.W. Bush

Airing 24 hours after news broke of George H. W. Bush’s passing, Saturday Night Live paid tribute to the former president who was the subject of 22 sketches on the late-night program during his Presidential campaign and four-year tenure. At the end of the Weekend Update, hosts Michael Che and Colin Just switched to a serious tone as they acknowledged the death of America’s 41st president, sending thoughts and condolences to his family. “President Bush was famously a very warm and gracious man who always understood the power in being able to laugh at yourself,” Jost said.

The body of President George H . W . Bush arrived in Washington, D.C. to lie in state at the Capitol building on Monday. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence shared fond memories of the former president at an afternoon ceremony inside the Capitol, surrounded by the Bush family.

“George helped me get reelected to Congress and later advised my campaign for the Senate,” Quayle recalls.

In 1992, after serving their four-year term as President and Vice President, they suffered a stinging defeat by Bill Clinton and Al Gore over a lagging economy. But Bush, with his usual grace and empathy, didn’t let that bother him for too long.

“George took the time to send my three children gracious handwritten letters praising my service to the country,” Quayle says. “Marilyn and I so appreciated this. He told each of my children who were 18, 16, and 14 at the time how much he loved working with me even after experiencing the worst defeat. My children still have those letters.”

When negative comments were blasted across newspapers and on TV shows about either of them while in office, President Bush never discussed any of it with Vice President Quayle. His mantra was for both of them to keep working and serving the country in the most positive and productive way.

Supreme Court delays arguments for Bush national day of mourning

The Supreme Court is delaying its Wednesday arguments in order to observe the national day of mourning planned for former President George H.W. Bush. The high court was scheduled to hear oral arguments for Gamble v. United States, a case about the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment, on Wednesday. The justices will now hear the arguments the following day, according to the Supreme Court announcement. The late former president's funeral will take place on Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Washington National Cathedral. He is set to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda from Monday through Wednesday morning.

The Bushes share the stage with Vice President Dan Quayle and his wife, Marilyn, at the Republican National George Herbert Walker Bush died Friday at the age of 94. Former President George W "His accomplishments were great from beginning to end. He was a truly wonderful man and will be

HOUSTON — George H . W . Bush , a patrician New Englander whose presidency soared with the coalition victory over Iraq in Kuwait, but then plummeted in He did little to help himself by picking Dan Quayle , a lightly regarded junior senator from Indiana, as a running mate. But Bush soon became an

“George had been Vice President for eight years (1981-1989) under Ronald Reagan before he was President so he knew the nonsense that is part of politics, and he ignored it,” says Quayle, adding, “He just moved on from anything adversarial and focused on our jobs, and the good we did. He wants to be judged for his record, and he will be remembered for his work in world affairs and as the best one-term President in history.”

RELATED: George H.W. Bush Never Said ‘No’ to Wife Barbara: ‘That’s Why They Stayed Married,’ Says George W.

Quayle said President Bush had a rough time after Barbra died in April although he tried to keep a positive attitude for the rest of his family.

“After spending 73 years with Barbara it was tough, but he told me he hoped to live to be 100,” Quayle says. “He almost made it.”

George H.W. Bush's biographer Jon Meacham draws laughs from Bush kids during eulogy.
Historian and presidential biographer Jon Meacham admitted George H.W. Bush was an "imperfect" man during his powerful — and, at times, light-hearted — eulogy at Wednesday's funeral at the Washington National Cathedral.

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